Questions tagged [taxonomy]
Questions on the classification of biological organisms, and the methods used for classifying them.
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Can you help me identified this insect?
This was found in south Texas, USA.
It size was around 3 centimetres without considering the antennas or legs.
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25 views
+50
References for historical momentum in asexual species definitions
For sexually reproducing organisms, the scope of a species is somewhat fixed by reproductive compatibility.
However, this all collapses for organisms that exclusively reproduce asexually.
Here, my ...
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27 views
Question about the use of Var. in different species
I just recently started studying Taxonomy and seem that I am the only one that got such question in the Internet...so pardon if this is a silly question...and my silly grammar because it is not my ...
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How can I learn botany/plant ID by myself?
I am interested in sources and methods regarding botany and plant ID, and being a self-taught person. Textbooks, sites etc.
Thank you all in advance!
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Taxonomy and morphology of marine fish
is there a relationship between taxonomy and the presence of stomach in marine fish? In other words, are stomachless fish present in only certain phylogenies or are stomachless fish scattered ...
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1answer
71 views
How to convert a genus name to a noun or adjective
Consider the crayfish family Cambaridae. As I understand it, this familial name can be turned into an English noun or adjective by changing the first letter to lower case and dropping the "ae.&...
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1answer
125 views
A word that includes plants and fungi, but not animals [closed]
Hello biologists and biology enthusiasts!
I am working on a project which includes information about plants and fungi. It would be very helpful for me if there a word that means plants-and-fungi, but ...
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2answers
100 views
Are animal cells animals themselves?
If all life can be divided into several kingdoms, and if the cells that make up organisms are the smallest units of life, does that mean that cells are part of those kingdoms as well? E.g. are animal ...
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1answer
60 views
Is amphibians being descended from fish reflected in the animalia taxonomy?
I think it is common knowledge that amphibians are descended from fish. At some point there was a transition from sea to land.
But when I try to confirm this through the Animalia taxonomy, the ...
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0answers
37 views
Is there a taxonomy of species with emergence and extinction dates?
I know the NCBI has a list of each species and their place in the evolutionary tree. But do they have the dates that these species existed? Does any such database (partial or complete) exist anywhere?
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What is the current state of research on the relationship between sponges, ctenophores, and other animals?
I've been reading about the basal taxonomy of animals recently, and it seems as though there is some controversy surrounding the classification of sponges, ctenophores (comb jellies), and all other ...
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1answer
88 views
confusion in types and kingdom system of classification
I am a high school student and I want to ask: is the 'kingdom system' of classification (two-kingdom, three-kingdom etc.) different from artificial or natural classification? I am asking this because ...
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27 views
What websites biologists use to check what new plant or animal species have been discovered in the world?
What are the databases or websites that biologists use to check what new plants or animals have been found in the world? The service should list the location of the discovery, time of discovery, image ...
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1answer
25 views
Are diplobacillus physically connected?
I know that a diplobacillus is a bacillus bacteria that has a buddy 'attached' to it.
What I haven't been able to determine is exactly how is it 'attached'? Are their cell membranes fused - are they ...
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1answer
23 views
What author citation and abbreviation does (would) a monarch or a crown prince get after publishing a new taxon name?
Even though taxonomic rules appear to be silent about this (I've checked ICN Art. 46 and ICZN Art. 51), author citations, as well as abbreviations, are usually based on a surname. However, monarchs ...
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3answers
5k views
Can 'human' become a genus due to space colonization?
I have read that during the Second World War, some mosquitoes got trapped in the London underground railway system. The mosquitoes never got out and eventually they became a new species by themselves.
...
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2answers
64 views
Examples of species whose extinct common ancestor is well documented?
If we follow the ascendence line of two closely related species we can build a
"Theoretical" common ancestor, whose characteristics were inherited with few differences by the offspring.
<...
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0answers
30 views
When a 'v' letter should be changed to 'w' in botanical nomenclature?
When should be 'v' changed to 'w' in botanical names? (especially ones derived from names originally written in cyrillics).
The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants says ...
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49 views
Eukaryotic DNA polymerase in Leading and Lagging Strand
Different books say a different specifications on which eukaryotic DNA polymerase work in leading strand and which DNA polymerase work in lagging strand.
TL,DR: Which one is reality? and if there ...
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24 views
What defines a single organism?
I suppose what prompts me to ask this question is my wondering if it is possible to have a multicellular prokaryotic organism. For instance, can a biofilm be considered a single organism? Why or why ...
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0answers
28 views
Help me identify Grasshopper
I found this Grasshopper in Goa/India. It was about 2cm long. I suspect it is from Cataloipus genus or Gomphocerinae subfamily. Am i correct or it also seems to be juvenile from some other species?
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2answers
47 views
What could the etymology of Phallodriline be?
I'm reading about a series of gutless worms described in several papers as phallodrilines. A search in the World Register of Marine Species shows that there is a subfamily called "Phallodrilinae", but ...
2
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0answers
640 views
How many kingdoms are there actually?
I am wanting to learn (memorise) some of the tree of life; the classification of organisms. So I have come across a lot of kingdoms in my research. Basically, I don’t want to waste my time learning ...
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2answers
54 views
Umbrella term for “parts of the brain”
I am looking for an umbrella term for general "parts of the brain", esp. for (somehow arbitrary) "subsets of neurons".
For the tree of life there is an umbrella term for all kinds of taxonomic groups ...
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1answer
61 views
Why are Excavata called “Excavata”?
The explanation given in my textbook is:
Some members of this diverse group also have an “excavated” feeding
groove on one side of the cell body. (Campbell Biology)
This still isn't clear, ...
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2answers
1k views
What does it mean to share similarities among living organisms “both horizontally and vertically”?
I came across the following lines in a textbook (NCERT biology for class 11).
Systematic and monumental description of life forms, brought in, out of necessity, detailed systems of identification, ...
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0answers
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What is the current status of the taxon Crocodylus raninus?
What is the current status of the taxon Crocodylus raninus, the Borneo Crocodile? See Wikipedia Is it now a valid species, a subspecies of Crocodylus porosus (The Saltwater Crocodile) or merely a ...
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1answer
106 views
Helix aspersa or Cornu aspersum
The common garden snail was originally assigned as Helix aspersa and stayed that way for over 200 years. Recently, some biologists assigned it to the genus or subgenus Cornu renaming it to Cornu ...
2
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1answer
784 views
Is a lion a bony fish?
If you ask Wikidata "Does the species lion (Q140) have a parent taxon line up to the Osteichthyes (Q27207, bony fishes)?", it answers yes:
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1answer
132 views
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61 views
How does taxonomy work? The case of the Avian Dinosaurs
I recently discovered that the class Aves (or Birds) has been renamed Avian Dinosaurs. My question is when this taxonomic denomination achieved the consensus of the scientific community and through ...
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0answers
71 views
What are the sufficient criteria that make an entity a living homo sapiens? [closed]
When I say criteria I mean like x biological functions or y genetics.
If it were to be appearance,anatomy. A corpse completely looks like a man.
Moreover a person who has had their 4 limbs amputated, ...
3
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2answers
216 views
What is a “Valid Species”?
I read in a reference book on Google Books (Biology of Termites: a Modern Synthesis, eds. Bignell, Roisin, and Lo) that the termite Heterotermes perfidus found on the South Atlantic island of St ...
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0answers
67 views
Laurasia and Gondwana [closed]
The Cambrian explosion was 540 mya. Laurasia and Gondwana didnt collide until 330 mya. So for 210 million years the land was divided into two large continents. Plants and insects had already colonized ...
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1answer
48 views
Are there species which is debatable if they should be classified as animals or plants?
I'm watching a sci fi series and a character who is a biologist claims "even on Earth there are species which is debatable if they should be classified as animals or plants". I looked for examples of ...
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0answers
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Database for Macroinvertebrate Taxonomy
I compiled different data sets of invertebrate occurrences across some countries and now I want to ensure that all the taxonomic information is homogenized and correct. To this end, I am looking for a ...
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1answer
297 views
What are the differences between insects and spiders?
I have always been told that a spider is not an insect, since the former has 8 legs and the latter 6 legs.
Is it just a matter of definition and spiders could have been defined as "8-legged insects"? ...
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1answer
34 views
How to define ammonites?
I miss the definition of ammonite. In my opinion, many authors confuse the term "Ammonite" and "Ammonoid". Ammonoids (Ammonoidea) are large group of cephalopods including for example goniatites (...
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29 views
How are asexual species classified?
Are there multiple distinct genetic lineages of asexual species that are closely enough related to not be considered distinct or does any genetic change result in a new species?
I would assume there'...
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1answer
156 views
Why is Cannabis Sativa considered a distinct form of Cannabis?
My understanding is that the word Sativa is Latin and means "cultivated." See here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sativum
Since all cannabis consumed by people is cultivated and grown from seed, ...
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1answer
172 views
Did Plant Cells Evolve from Animal, Protist, or Fungal Cells?
I know protists and animals preceded plants but I am unaware of when fungi arose in relation to plants. At the moment, I cannot find a resource stating how plants evolved from existing kingdoms, or ...
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1answer
60 views
What sauropod genera had a double row of chevron bones in the tail?
I know that Diplodocus is marked by the feature of having a double row of or "double-beamed" chevron bones in the tail, but how diagnostic is this feature if several other sauropods have it? I mean, ...
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2answers
1k views
What is (probably) the closest living relative of the trilobite?
The trilobites vanished from the fossil record many millions of years ago, but they were obviously arthropods of some sort. Do we know which animals are their closest living relatives? I've heard both ...
3
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2answers
85 views
Is there a way tell apart dinosaurs from similar extinct reptiles?
When I was a child, I thought I knew what a dinosaur was. But, as I grew older, I was told that many of the extinct species that I thought were dinosaurs (dimetrodons, pterosaurs, plesiosaurs, etc.) ...
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28 views
Is Wikipedia a good source of taxonomy? [duplicate]
I have been quite interested in biology lately,and I would like to know whether it is a good choice to look up taxonomic information there.
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2answers
182 views
Why aren't mammals and reptiles considered amphibians?
We've all heard it: birds descend from dinosaurs, so they're dinosaurs too. But this got me thinking: doesn't this mean that, for instance, all terrestrial vertebrates – including humans – are ...
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0answers
24 views
Using spp. for taxa other than Genus
Can spp. be used for taxa other than genus ? For example Noctuidae spp. meaning certain genera in the Noctuidae family.
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37 views
Pre-linnaean names, where can I ask about current IDs?
I run a large website with lots of historical herb books. For the older ones, finding out current botanical names is very difficult.
Can I ask here? If not, does anybody know where I could ask what ...
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1answer
52 views
Are All Taxonomic Groups Uniquely Named?
The Linnaean classification system classifies and groups organisms into taxonomic groups: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, etc. Obviously, a clade at any taxonomic level is uniquely determined by its ...
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How related do life forms need to be to produce hybrids?
Specifically, I'm asking about infertile hybrids like ligers, mules, camas, etc. How closely related do animals need to be?
